Tag: funk

Funk

I’ve been in a weird place the last few months.

Both in running and life. Or maybe it’s mostly life but spilling over into running? Hmmm. Who knows.

I have a birthday coming up in a few days and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I keep joking that I’m going to wear all black and mope about it. I growl anytime someone brings it up. Which maybe isn’t so nice.

I just feel…. off. Not quite sure how to describe it.

My job is great, my coworkers awesome. My running may be measly and pathetic these days but I have 41 half marathons and 2 full marathons under my belt and not really all that many people can say that. Personal life may not be where I thought I would be at this point but is anyone’s really ever? And it’s not like it’s bad or anything, just quiet. And I like quiet. For the most part. I had some weird health concerns this year, so maybe that’s adding to it? Oh and the ultrasound came back clean so yay!

I started the week with a good run hoping that would set on the right path. Not that I know what that would be exactly. The week was as crazy busy as I thought it was going to be. I forgot what day it was half the time. Which can also be a good thing if it works in your favor. And I have another 3 day weekend to look forward to as I don’t work on Monday.

Not sure where I’m going with this maybe I just needed to vent? I’ll be back in a better mood next time, promise.

Rambling On- 50

It’s been a while since I rambled and boy are lots of thoughts bouncing around my head.

The rain is making me cranky and fussy. Well, maybe that’s just me. The last time I was this stressed by the weather was 2 years when constant rain took out my route to work. Maybe that’s a hidden stress- constant worry that the highway is going to get shutdown for 2 months again. Well, that and that it’s effecting my running. Running in the rain is one thing but I don’t trust the drivers around here on sunny, clear days. I mean we iced over a few weeks ago and there were 15 accidents in a 2 mile stretch of freeway in an hour.

Sometimes I feel like it’s 2 steps forward and 15 back. Work, running, health, etc. I have a feeling I know what my weak spot is but can’t seem to make myself do anything about it. Which then again is the problem. Grrrr.

But in good news, I got my tax return. Paid back the room re-do, yay. I also paid off my bed. Could someone explain to me why those things cost so damn much?!?!

Oh, did I mention added some more races to the calendar? I used to race just for the hell of it, I miss that. The last few years I was focused on getting faster but did nothing but get slower and slower. I miss those naïve days of racing and want to get back to just having fun and running ALL the races.

Did I ever mention that I am part of Orange Mud’s ambassador team – The Dirt Unit?? I’ve the company for years and own 4 different packs, the handheld and multiple transition towels. Serious love. And if the damn rain ever stops, the trails might open and I can get back out on them.

I feel like there is more to say but I’ll stop there for now.

Share your random!

Week 7- Last Hurrah

2019 Race Schedule (so far):
3/24 Oakland Running Festival (more to come)
4/28 SLO Half Marathon
~~5-4 Wildflower (Thanks BibRave)~~ Canceled
8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)

Yeah, I told myself I was going to cheer up and be positive last week, but nah.

I did try, I really did. I made it out for a short but sweet run at the lake on Monday so I started the week on the right foot. Then it all went sideways. On Tuesday, I received news that opportunity I was nervous/ excited about last week wasn’t going my way. Which while I kind of expected it, it still hit me where it hurt.

And started another moody spiral. Telling myself I was going to run and carting around a gym bag full of clothes does not count if you never change your clothes. However I do think I might have run a tiny bit more if we hadn’t received so much damn rain. Don’t get me wrong, we need rain desperately here but we are not built for it. The roads were flooding (some washed away) and people all drive like idiots in the rain. Didn’t exactly inspire me to get out the door.

So what does a moody runner not running do? Well they add 2 races to their calendar! Makes total sense, right? One is through BibRave to replace Wildflower since it was canceled last week and the other is through work. And hopefully goes better than the last time I ran it. You know that time I jumped out of my car on the freeway?? Good times.

So I gave myself one last weekend to wallow, think and generally just be in a funk. It wasn’t all bad; my mother has been bugging me to go shopping in SLO with her and we did that on Saturday. I may have done a little retail shopping and come home with a few bags. Ok, more than a few but I swear I didn’t spend that much!

So last week?

Monday- 2 miles
Short but every time I run at the lake, I can push the miles a little further. When does the time change? The creepy factor of the lake keeps me from running there in full dark no matter how many lights I have but I do love the sunsets.

Oh and that shopping? I picked up a new pillow cover to finish off the room re-do, however it hasn’t actually made it to a pillow yet.

Someone claimed it. 😛

How was your week?

Week 51/52- Yeah No

I struggle with December.

I lose all motivation to do much of anything active. I don’t know if it’s the holidays, if it’s the cold, the fact that I always seem to get sick in December. This December seemed to be more funk-a-delic than usual.

I have run twice in the last 2 weeks for a total of 5ish miles. I started 2 Beachbody workouts but didn’t finish either. One time was because the phone crashed but I didn’t bother restarting it either. 😛

I’ve been reminded that work is chaos around the holidays. So very busy. I learned that you can check into Urgent Care in the middle of night even though they don’t open until 8. I almost went to Urgent Care a few times, it was a rough week.

It wasn’t all bad though. I had a nice chill Christmas with the family. I might finally be starting to feel better- knock on wood. I upgraded my computer- maybe blog post will be more consistent. If I can figure out how to get the new one working that is. Just when you think you are tech savvy. Or when you realize how many passwords you don’t have memorized or logged anywhere. Oops.

All in all, I am kind of in denial that 2019 is almost here, wasn’t I just in San Diego? It should still be October. I have big plans for 2019, I just feel like I needed a little more cushion before it started. Double oops.

How was your week?
Do you struggle with December or is it just me?

How to WIN Laundry Day

Disclaimer: I received an entry to Oakland Running Festival as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Nobody likes to smell… Or at least I hope not.

There have been a few times I have finished a long run in the middle of summer and kind of scared myself. I only do laundry once a week so I always tried to plan my long runs around laundry day but sometimes life happens. As I only have space for one laundry hamper everything goes into the same one which then makes me wonder what kind of cross contamination is going on with my laundry.

Plus I have a tendency to only wear the clothes that are on the top of drawers so that means the same shirts, shorts and pants. Over and over and over again. Anyone else do that?

So yeah, sometimes I was concerned about how clean my clothes were. I always follow all the directions- wash on cool or cold, inside out, gentle cycle, line dry, etc. but still I wondered.

Enter WIN Detergent.

WIN is specifically designed for the materials found in active wear. Most laundry detergents are designed to be multipurpose. Which is great but sometimes our running gear could use a little help.

From the website-

The very properties that allow fabrics to wick moisture away cause them to attract oils.
As bacteria from your skin consume those oils, they create gases which give synthetics that telltale sweaty smell.
WIN has ingredients not found in most supermarket detergents that are optimized to remove oils from synthetics.
Not only do those oils cause odor, they impede performance. By removing them, WIN makes your apparel wick better and last longer.

I’ve been using WIN, the scented version, for about a month now. It has a very light scent- in fact I can barely smell it. But then my nose doesn’t always work so well. But I can say that my clothes have no lingering running funk smell on them! Woo hoo!

I really gave WIN a test when I left my race clothes from Holiday Half in a plastic bag for the next few days because I was still traveling. Oh boy. It passed the test!

Now the directions say to use half a cap for regular loads and a full cap for large loads. I tend to use more than directions call for. That’s more due to my brand new piece of crap washing machine than anything about WIN.

And WIN is available on Amazon and you can ship it with Amazon Prime! Sorry, joined the Prime crowd this past month and may love it a little too much. 😛

Use discount code RAVE4WIN to save 20% off any WIN purchase through January 15, 2019.

Do you wash your gear right away or let it wait?